Since Tuesday, 1.3415 and 1.329 have been used by the market as support/resistance on multiple occasions. The 1.329 area was used as support close to six times, if you reference the 15-minute chart!

AUD/USD: 0.7445, 0.7415 and 0.7360

The 0.7445 area is an important technical level on the AUD/USD chart; this area acted resistance again today, which marks the third instance of this level acting as resistance this week. The market is now sandwiched between 0.7445 and 0.7415!

USD/JPY: 102.78 & 102.20

The 102.78 area has acted as resistance on multiple occasions during the past two days. The 102.20 level has also become important since the 28th, so mark this pivot zone on your charts as well.

EUR/JPY: 114.10

Since the 24th, the 114.10 area has acted as resistance twice; today's rally stalled as soon as the market hit 114.10.

GBP/JPY: 136

The 136 price level has played a key role since the start of the week; 4 times as support; once as resistance on the 28th.

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LocalBitcoins volumes are spiking again in several countries: China, Malaysia, New Zealand and Norway saw new records for the week ending 2016-06-25. While other countries like Australia and Hong Kong showed the highest volumes since the begging of 2016.

China:

China's previous record was 5,065,611 for the week ending 2016-06-11, but the past week set a new all-time high of 5,296,533 Chinese Yuan worth of trades, according data compiled by Coin.dance!

Malaysia:

Bitcoin trading volumes in Malaysia set a new high on 2016-06-11, but data for the week ending 2016-06-25 shows a 2nd consecutive all-time high at 602,886 Malaysian Ringgits.

It's also interesting to note that Google Trends shows a distinct increase in Bitcoin-related searches coming out of Malaysia for the past two months:

New Zealand:

The LocalBitcoins weekly volumes chart shows three distinct spikes in New Zealand; the first one for the week ending 2013-11-30, coming in at $116,418 NZD; the second one is $127,905 NZD, which came in on 2016-01-09; and the newest & highest volume was recorded last week, totaling $130,950 NZD.

Norway:

The biggest spike in LocalBitcoins volume came out of Norway, where 1,307,166 Norwegian Krone worth of trades took place for the week ending 2016-06-25;
this is almost double the previous all-time high of 777,231 kr!

Google Trends data doesn't seem to show any spikes in Bitcoin-related searches coming out of the country, however, the Norwegian Krone took a big hit in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. According to Bloomberg, the Norwegian Krone is the biggest looser of Brexit, losing more than 2.5%:

Most of the major financial news networks have suggested that Bitcoin may be increasingly seen by investors as a safe-haven asset in times of global economic turmoil, but many have dismissed these theories as unfounded speculation. Norway's LocalBitcoins volume data may lend some credibility to this theory.

The EUR/USD opened with a 74-pip gap on Sunday, but that gap has been filled now and the 1.107 level has turned into a double resistance zone.

GBP/USD: 1.3236

The GBP/USD opened with a 250-pip gap that still hasn't been filled. The market has sold-off another 300 pip since the open and the 1.3236 price level - which marked the low point of the Brexit crash - has now turned into resistance. This is a critical level as the market has failed to break above this level several times since the open.

AUD/USD: 0.7445, 0.7390 and 0.7360

The 0.7445 area was used as support last Friday and the market gaped under this level on Sunday. Since the open, the 0.7445 area has acted as resistance twice already. The 0.7390 area was also quite active last week and this level showed its strength during the London session again, acting as support another two times. The 0.7360 area - which I outlined in last week's post - is still valid; this level is now acting as resistance.

NZD/USD: 0.715, 0.71 and 0.7015

The AUD/USD and NZD/USD are very correlated pairs and both pairs have managed to fill their Sunday gaps. The 0.71 area is still a formidable level - this pivot prevented the market from rallying higher several times since the start of the week. Last Friday, the importance of the 0.7015 pivot area was outlined on the NZD/USD charts, and this level is being used by the market today as well.

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Coinsecure, one of the biggest names in the rapidly-growing Indian digital currency space, has announced a new partnership with Bitcoin payment processor BitPay. The deal will enable Indian merchants to accept Bitcoin payments from customers through Coinsecure, while simultaneously receiving payouts in the Indian Rupee.

The volatility of the digital currency may have dissuaded some business owners in the country from integrating Bitcoin, but this new deal between Coinsecure and BitPay may set the stage for the next phase of Bitcoin adoption throughout Asia, "This is a huge step forward in getting Bitcoin to become more mainstream in India," says Coinsecure.

While BitPay has been very active in India over the past year, merchants could only accept Bitcoin payments through BitPay's platform and fiat currency conversions were not allowed. Despite this limitation, "In 2015, the country ranked among our top 20 countries for bitcoin transaction activity and contributed to a 388% growth in Asia's BitPay transaction volume," writes James Walpole, Marketing Associate at BitPay.

"For India's merchants, bitcoin offers a new way to receive online payments from customers anywhere in the world, including in areas of Asia without widespread credit card access."

In April of this year, Coinsecure raised $1.2 million in a Series A funding round from multiple private investors to expand its presence in the country, and to improve its infrastructure. In today's blog posting, Coinsecure announced that four new merchants have already signed up for the new payment service; technology-focused consulting firm First Principal Ventures; Indian graphic design firm Lazy Eight Design; software as a service eCommerce platform Kartmagic; Bangalore-based custom furniture designer firm Zraya.

A representative from First Principal Ventures outlined the company's approach to new payment methods, “Accepting payments from our clients in the form of Bitcoin perfectly aligns with our work in the new technologies and innovations sector.”

Anurudh, Director of Kartmagic, explained that the Indian payment processor is now accepting Bitcoin payments though Coinsecure, adding that Kartmagic "will offer Bitcoin payment gateway to our merchants all across India."

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The historic Brexit vote caused a sell-off in the EUR/USD that sent the exchange rate down to 1.0914, but the market has now stabilized somewhat and price started to trade in a clear sideways range; 1.118 is now acting as resistance; 1.104 has been used multiple times as support/resistance over the past 24h.

GBP/USD: 1.355

USD/JPY: 103.10 & 102

Much like the EUR/USD, the USD/JPY is now trading in a tight range, sandwiched between two significant pivot zones.

USD/CAD: 1.297, 1.291 and 1.286

The USD/CAD managed to make it over the big pivot zone at 1.297 today. If this area continues to act as support - just as it did earlier today - the USD/CAD may trade up to the highs at 1.3055.

AUD/USD: 0.753, 0.746, 0.742 and 0.736

The 0.753 pivot zone is of great technical significance as it acted as support/resistance on multiple occasions during the Brexit vote. The market has still not recovered from the sell-off that took place off this pivot zone, so I would recommend to have this level marked on your charts!

EUR/JPY: 118.33, 115.48 and 112.66

GBP/JPY: 139.33

NZD/USD: 0.715, 0.71 and 0.7015

The 0.715 level is probably the most important pivot on the NZD/USD chart due to how many times the market stalled at this area. During the Brexit vote, 0.715 was used several times as support as well.

XAU/USD: 1312

The $1312 on the XAU/USD was smashed quite hard during Brexit voting, however, this area is now providing ample support. This level was also used as resistance two times on the 16th of June!

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Two new FX brokers have been given permission to operate in Belarus today. Alpari Group and Gerchik&Co have been granted foreign exchange licenses by The National Bank of Belarus and will be required to deposit $55,000 in a deposit insurance fund, which is administered by the Belorussian Currency and Stock Exchange (National Forex Center).

According to a Financial Magnates report, Gerchik&Co and Alpari's licenses will go into affect following an inspection that will verify the integrity and compliance of the firms' trading systems with the standards of the National Bank of Belarus.

Alpari has had an office in Minsk - the capital of Belarus - since 2010, but the brokerage registered its new branch, Alpari Eurasia, in April of 2016. Alexander Sabodin, Director of Alpari Eurasia, said that the company has been actively engaging with the country's authorities in establishing an appropriate regulatory environment for the foreign exchange industry:

"This is why we have become one of the most active firms in the region that has taken part in the definition of the regulatory framework for the forex industry.”

Sabodin explained that Alpari's new license is a "positive development" for the firm, "It is important to note that this is the start of a new era for the financial industry in the country." he added.

The Belorussian retail foreign exchange market has been growing at a steady pace since the beginning of 2016. In April, Cyprus-based Forex Club and Open Investments became the first FX brokers to get licenses in the country. And in May, TeleTrade and FTM Brokers also received permission from The National Bank of Belarus.

In my previous Bitcoin technical analysis article I explained some of the important technical levels and pointed out a candle formation that was signaling that the market was overbought, however, I honestly was not expecting the massive drop that started two days later, on the 20th. The $720 pivot level, which I outlined in my previous article, is very much still relevant. In fact, the range between $715 & $720 is now a giant pivot zone, as the $715 area acted as resistance on the 21st.

The $668 level has been invalided as price has traded through this area multiple times now, so I would not consider it very important, but the $680 level has established itself over the last 2-3 days; once as support; twice as resistance yesterday. The 30-minute chart also shows $630 having technical importance, so mark this pivot on your charts as well.

During the final leg of yesterday's selling, the market found support between $550-$560, which happens to be another important technical level that goes to back to end of May, when this area was first used as resistance. The $560 area also acted as support on June 7th, and this area also acted as support today. This range is now another major pivot zone that needs to be marked on every Bitcoin trader's charts.

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San Francisco-based Bitcoin exchange Coinbase has announced today a new PayPal withdrawal option for its US clients. Traders on Coinbase will be able to sell their bitcoin and request a withdrawal into their PayPal accounts.

Coinbase users will also have the ability to deposit funds into their account via credit card. According to today's blog post, the new payment options are still in beta, and Coinbase has plans to roll-out the new services to the rest of its 4-million-strong client base over the next few weeks.

The PayPal funding option is currently limited to US-based clients, with support for additional countries coming in a few months. Coinbase stated that "many funding mechanisms" will be added in the future to open up the digital currency markets to everyone in the world:

"With the addition of credit card support, we are getting closer to a world where customers can purchase bitcoin with any card in their wallet."

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BVI-based Forex broker Gallant Capital Markets has followed the lead of other major FX trading houses by informing all of their FX clients of the new margin requirements ahead of the UK vote, which is scheduled to take place this Thursday.

The new margin requirements take affect today and also apply to certain CFD products like the UK100, which now has an 8% margin level - the highest of all CFD trading instruments. GBP, XAU and XAG margins have also been set at 8%. All other CFDs are set at 5% margin, with margins for NGAS, USOIL and UKOIL being set at 3%. Unlike other brokers, Gallant has decided to keep the elevated margins until June 27th.

Gallant also states:

"Additional increases or restrictions affecting these markets or others may follow. We will be sure to inform you of any additional changes as soon as reasonably practicable."

The company's strongly-worded email also warns traders of the consequences of not maintaining adequate margin on all open positions, "If the equity in your trading account is insufficient to cover the total required margin for all open positions, in accordance with our margin and stop out policies your open positions will automatically and without warning be closed one-by-one,"

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The pivot range between 1.1295-1.13 was outlined two days ago in this article, and I speculated that this technical zone may be retested in the coming days. The 1.13 pivot zone held as support yesterday, however, the entire range was broken to the downside today during the UK trading session. Given the rich history of this technical range, it would not be surprising if this area now turns into resistance. If 1.13 starts acting as resistance, the next led down may push the EUR/USD to 1.113 - the June 16th lows.

Like the EUR/USD, the XAU/USD also managed to close under a very important technical zone. The $1278 level - which I outlined in my post on the 19th of June - was broken today and this level is very likely to now turn into resistance. While the XAU/USD has been on a tear since the begging of June, today's break under $1278 may be signaling the start of a bear market.

Remember, the uncertainty surround the Brexit referendum was one of the key drivers of the precious metals rallies this month, but the chances of a Brexit vote are growing smaller by the day. Just two days ago, British-based gambling site Ladbrokes put the odds of the UK leaving the EU at 29%, but that percentage has now gone down to just 24%!

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China, Kenya and Pakistan saw record volumes on LocalBitcoins for the week of 2016-06-11. However, new data from Coin.dance for the week of 2016-06-18 shows that trading in the digital currency is exploding in many other countries. Bitcoin trading volumes in Brazil, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela are through the roof.

Brazil:

According to data provided by InternetLiveStats, Brazil is home to 4.1% of the world's internet users, with 139,111,185 Brazilian citizens using the internet on a regular basis. In 2015 alone, Brazil added approximately 13.6 million new internet users, and for the first half of 2016, an additional 6.7 million Brazilians have come online. While the South American nation has 66.4% of its citizens using the internet, 40% of the population does not have access to traditional banking services, according to TheGuardian.

Brazil's IT infrastructure, along with the country's sizable unbanked population, may serve as fertile ground for the rapid proliferation of digital currencies like Bitcoin. And that is precisely what Michael Dunworth, Co-Founder and CEO of San Francisco-based digital currency payment processor Snapcard, predicted would happen at the start of 2016, in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine. This trend is already starting to become clear when looking at volumes on LocalBitcoins for the week of 2016-06-18, which registered an all-time high of R$ 320,108. This is a massive increase compared to previous weeks, which seldom went above R$ 200,000.

Colombia:

During the recent World Economic Forum on Latin America, held in Medellin on June 17, 2016, CEO and co-founder of Philippines-based credit scoring firm Lenddo, stated that FinTech and digital currency firms in Latin America are hampered by excessive and inadequate regulations. However, last week, Colombia saw its first Bitcoin exchange, Colbitex, launching in beta mode, which allows Colombian digital currency enthusiasts to familiarize themselves with the technology and the trading platform. Colbitex is scheduled to launch with real digital currency trading in July, according to Finance Colombia.

Colombia's rising annual inflation - which is currently at 8.2%, about double the government's estimates of 4% - may also be contributing to the increasing popularity of Bitcoin and the sharp rise of LocalBitcoins trading volumes in the country. According to Coin.dance, Bitcoin trading in Colombia reached a record 167,854,108 Colombian Pesos.

India:

Just like Colombia, India is also experiencing higher inflation. Recently released figures put India's annual consumer price inflation at 5.76%, while food inflation ballooned to 7.55%, according to Reuters. Since 2014, the India Rupee has lost about 10% of its value when measured against the US Dollar. Bitcoin's recent appreciation, along with India's inflationary economic environment, is likely driving interest in the digital currency among Indian investors looking to preserve purchasing power. LocalBitcoins trading volumes did spike towards the end of 2015, but last week's spike set a new record of R16,802,958.

Malaysia:

Bitcoin's meteoric rise over the past two weeks has also spurred many investors in Malaysia to start diversifying. While LocalBitcoins volumes in Malaysia have been trending higher since 2015, last week's spike is something to behold. For the week of 2016-06-18, Malaysian LocalBitcoins volume came in at RM 574,275.

Norway:

The crash in oil prices has had a dramatic effects on Norway's economy and currency. On March 17, 2016, Norway's central bank cut its key interest rates to 0.5%, a 25 basis point cut, and Governor Øystein Olsen said at the time that rates may be cut even further. Two days later, Coin.dance showed the biggest spike in LocalBitcoins trading volumes in Norway, which registered kr 698,310. However, last week's trading volumes set a new record in Norway: 777,231 Norwegian Krone. Low interest rates, coupled with the possibility of further cuts, or even negative rates, seem to have sent Norwegians fleeing to alternative asset classes like Bitcoin, which are immune to central bank meddling.

Russia:

The Russian Ruble has recovered somewhat against the US Dollar since the beginning of the year, but the Russian currency has lost about 50% of its value since June of 2014, when the USD/RUB was trading at 33.85! Despite various draconian anti-Bitcoin bills being proposed by various members of Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime, LocalBitcoins volumes in Russia are surging with each passing week. A new record of 190,649,763 Rubles was recorded on LocalBitcoins for the week ending on 2016-06-18.

Saudi Arabia:

Unlike the Russian currency, the Saudi Riyal has been pegged at 3.75 to the US Dollar for a decade. But recent economic instability in Saudi Arabia, along with the oil price crash, have forced the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency to ban dollar-riyal forward options contracts in order to curb speculative trading. Some of that speculative money may now be finding its way into Bitcoin. While LocalBitcoins volumes in SA have been quite sporadic for the past two years, May and June volumes have been consistently high, a pattern not seen in the past two years of available data. Of course the biggest volume registered for the week for 2016-06-18, which came in at SAR 48,275.

Venezuela:

Venezuela's rapid descent into economic chaos, triple-digital inflation and social anarchy has not dented trading volumes on LocalBitcoins, in fact, the opposite seems to be taking place. The previous record, which was recorded for the week ending 2016-05-28, has been broken with a new all-time high reading of Bs 83,863,783 for the week of 2016-06-18. The rapid collapse of the Venezuelan Bolivar has sent Venezuelans straight into Bitcoin.

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Major FX brokers have started hiking margins on all GBP and EUR trading pairs to mitigate any potentials risks stemming from the UK Referendum, which is scheduled to take place on June 23, 2016. Last week, New York-based Forex broker FXCM informed its clients of higher margin requirements on specific pairs, which may experience thin liquidity and abnormal volatility in the aftermath of the referendum. As FXCM stated in their communique, the new margin rules apply to USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, JPY, CAD, CHF and HKD denominated accounts. The new requirements went into effect last Friday.

FXCM also left the door open for additional margin hikes:

"In case market conditions become very volatile, we could raise margin requirements further."

Other brokers like Seychelles-based Tickmill also dropped leverage ratios for all traders on select pairs; 1:25 for all GBP pairs, down from 1:500; 1:100 for all EUR pairs, down from 1:500 previously; 1:20 for UK100 index, which traders can normally trade at a leverage of 1:100. Tickmill also told traders that under certain circumstance the opening of positions on certain pairs may be disabled altogether, "Depending on the market conditions, we may enforce close-only regime for certain currency pairs or indices. Large accounts that accumulate substantial market exposure may see their account leverage lowered further, subject to prior warning."

According to LeapRate, Cyprus-based FxPro has also instituted a similar "close only" rule. Earlier in the week, FxPro dramatically increased trading margins for GBP and EUR pairs, but in an email to customers this week the broker set trading margins back to normal levels, with higher requirements on orders bigger than 5 lots.

FxPro Explains:

"Following increased demand from our clients we are increasing leverage for all FX pairs. To protect our clients against sharp market movements, we will be reviewing our trading conditions for the days leading up to the referendum, as well as during and in the aftermath of it."

While FX brokers are increasing margin requirements to protect themselves and their clients in the event UK voters want out of the EU, British-based gambling firm Ladbrokes puts the odds of Britain leaving the EU at 29%, 14% lower than last week's reading.
And it would seem that the market also seems to believe that Britain will remain in the EU - the GBP/USD opened with a 110-pip gap today and is currently trading 140 pips higher than where it opened.